“Deadline” Dark Humor in Stop-motion

The intricate balance between bureaucracy, mortality, and the unwavering loyalty of feline companions, get their share in the spotlight of the black comedy stop-motion short film “Deadline”. Directed, produced, and crafted in various roles by Idan Gilboa, the film delves into the friendship and solidarity between two senior ladies, grappling with society’s disregard and disrespect.

In an exclusive interview with director Idan Gilboa, he revealed that the roots of “Deadline” trace back to his teenage years. A comic he drew and wrote as a determined teenager seeking acceptance into the underground alternative comic magazine “Penguin Deviations” laid the foundation. The original comic narrated the daring escape of a group of elderly women from a sheltered housing facility, embarking on a revenge journey filled with action and explosions. Years later, while searching for a concept for his final project at Bezalel in 2009, Gilboa rediscovered the old comic and envisioned creating a stop-motion animated trailer for a fictional animated series based on his youthful creation.

In 2016, seizing an opportunity presented by an animation film development grant, Gilboa and a friend transformed the concept into a short film. The script secured a development grant from the Jerusalem Film Fund, with additional support from the Multicultural Gesher Film Foundation and the Pais Cultural Fund.

When asked about his favorite part of production, Gilboa emphasized the charm each stage held.

“I really liked the stage of designing and building the puppets, it was very intense and required a high degree of self-discipline because I made everything myself from home in a rather stressful schedule that I set for myself, I really like the craft and working with my hands and I could sit for hours and listen to music and audio books while working” said Gilboa. “But if I have to choose something general that I liked that encompasses all the parts of this production, it is the meeting and interaction with the various crew members, seeing how my idea excites other people and they participate in it with pleasure and a desire to help, and sometimes at a very low salary due to low production budgets, and give their heart and soul to the project. The work with them was long and sometimes intense, along the way they turned from professionals to good friends and they have a lot of credit for the success of the movie “Deadline””.

While the production had its ups, Gilboa acknowledged the most challenging phases. Building sets in the studio and the animation process proved to be formidable tasks. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the workflow, causing delays and making it difficult to resume production.

“It was really, really hard to restart after each lockdown to try again to find and regroup the professionals who could come to my studio. Then because of the delays, the shooting lasted a year and a half instead of six months according to the original plan, the rent of the studio was over and I had to quickly look for a new place, dismantle all the sets and try to move them without damaging them to a new studio. The new studio I found in Kfar Saba was full of problems and there was a war going on with Gaza and in the middle of it all my eldest daughter Yuval was born. Like a snowball, each curve brought another delay after it.”

Reflecting on the journey, Gilboa admitted there were scenes he would reshoot and mistakes he noticed too late. He expressed a desire to have been more hands-on with the animation process, trusting his skills earlier in the production.

“I think that in general I would have tried to animate more by myself, at first I didn’t trust myself enough and refrained, which caused delays in the production because I was looking for good animators who would do better than me and they couldn’t come because of the lockdowns, but towards the end of filming I really got better at it and I enjoyed it a lot.”

For those aspiring to enter independent production, Gilboa’s advice is rooted in passion. He emphasized the need to love the idea or story with every fiber of one’s being. Independent production requires a deep commitment and internal motivation to overcome obstacles, often without substantial financial support.

“Usually there is not enough money in it to make you continue on the path despite all the difficulties, so you need another internal incentive in order to overcome all the ups and downs. And how clichéd it may sound – you need a production that will make you enjoy the journey and not the goal.”

For those curious about Idan Gilboa’s future endeavors, he invites audiences to follow him on Instagram and explore his website: https://idangi.wixsite.com/deadline Instagram @Deadline_Stopmotion and @i.gilbo .

‘Deadline’ is an official selection in the Utah International Film Festival February 12-17. ‘Deadline’ will screen at Maven Cinemas in American Fork, UT.